April 2010

Poland

Friday 26th February to Monday 1st March saw me off to Poland with Rev Andy Turner, Trevor Webb and Sarah Stent from Welling Baptist Church. We went to link-up with our friends in God's Glory Church - the Pentecostal fellowship in Nowy Sacz, being able to see some of the follow-up to the Shoebox appeal.

The Social Services had given Bernie and Iwona the details of five of the poorest families. We were able to visit taking more presents for the children, a special food hamper and some helpful Bible materials as well. One family had mum and dad with seven children, all living in one room. Three of the children had learning difficulties - the family live on £45 per month support. The family wanted us all to go in, as they saw our visit as a great honour - that was truly humbling. We were also able to be part of the teenager's home group, an Elders' and Deacons' meeting, as well as meals with various members of the Church.

Sunday morning saw us join the fellowship for worship. They have about 100 adults and 50 teenagers and children, currently meeting in a social club. The fellowship has an exciting project to transform a derelict factory into a modern church centre. Andy and I preached two sermons, with Pastor Jack Orlowski providing simultaneous translation! For more information, look at www.kzns.org.

Southern Poland is a good place for a holiday, and we have begun to talk with our friends in Nowy Sacz about a Church holiday crowd taking a leisurely break nearby sometime soon. Our brothers and sisters there are prayerfully interested in all that we are seeking to do as we reach out to community.

Andrew White

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A CHAT WITH ……………

Christine Ives (Office Manager) and Jacqui Pantlin (Assistant Office Manager)

As you have been working in the office in these positions for a while now, I thought it would be a good idea to have this chat with you and to see how things are going. So, shall we begin? Each day starts with half an hour of teaching and prayer – how do you find this helps you in your daily walk with the Lord and in the way you carry out your work in the office?

CHRISTINE: When we first started up in the office the prayer time wasn’t as good as it now. It was a bit mechanical and sometimes just a few minutes. Now it is really good. Frank gives us a subject to really think about and discuss and we are starting to learn as well as pray for the day.

JACQUI: I have been working in the BBC office for approximately six months, and for the most part am really enjoying it. Like all work and people we have our ups and downs. However, I feel very blessed that I can work here. I work three mornings a week, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 9.30 – 12.30 pm each day. Every morning starts with half an hour of teaching and prayer, which I find really lifts me each day. Like all baby Christians my walk with the Lord is sometimes a crawl, but quite often a run! Regular teaching and prayer with others is a real encouragement, and quite often a leveller.

I believe these mornings are quite well attended – those involved each day automatically being there – but would you like to see others from the fellowship joining you and, if so, why?

CHRISTINE: At the moment the prayer time is mostly attended by the people who are going to be there for the morning. Sometimes people from the different groups join in. I would like to see this happening more often so that we can hear of any problems a particularl group may be facing, or any joys they want to give thanks for, and we can all join in and support them.

JACQUI: On some days the morning prayer time is quite well attended, with other members of our fellowship joining those volunteers for the day. Understandably, many of the fellowship are at work themselves this time of the morning, but I would really like to encourage more of them to come along if they are able.

Those people in our fellowship who go to work or who do not live in the village so do not pop in during office hours, very likely have now idea what you do! So, would you tell us about what is happening, what your responsibilities are and how things are progressing (the easy and the difficult parts)?

CHRISTINE: Where should I start! I can’t believe that what we do in the office used to be done by just one secretary! I think that a lot of work is caused by having to work as a team. I know many hands make light work, but only when each person has a role to play and know their part in the scheme of things, and it’s trying to come up with the systems and procedures that takes a lot of thinking! Our main duties are to make sure we have people to do caretaking, PA, Projector on Sundays and for other events. Keep people up to date with hall bookings, etc., deal with petty cash and try to make people feel welcome when they drop in to see us.

JACQUI: After prayer my daily routine begins with reading and processing the emails, continuing to work on topics like petty cash procedures, checking each week’s Sunday rota, updating the TV screen in the foyer, arranging meetings and liaising with local traders and councillors, in addition to daily admin tasks. As changes begin to take place within our fellowship some people can find it difficult to adjust. I, like many people, can find change difficult and sometimes feel uncomfortable with trying to implement these different ways of doing things. However, I also believe that, as a family, we can all encourage and support each other to work through difficult changes, and hopefully see the positives that these can bring.

Looking forward to the future – say in twelve months – what would you like to see happening and what your roles will be?

CHRISTINE: I would like everything to be running so smoothly that it won’t even look like any work is being done!

JACQUI: Looking forward, I would say, I generally struggle with; I guess that also brings us back to change. However, I can glimpse my relationship with the Lord getting stronger, and our fellowship growing. The Refresh Centre becoming truly established here in Belvedere, a safe and loving place for everyone within the village.

Do you have a favourite Bible verse which, maybe, helps you when things are difficult or frustrating?

CHRISTINE: It isn’t my favourite verse, but it is the one that encourages me – Romans 5:3-5

JACQUI: One of the main reasons I decided to apply to work in the office was a verse I read in the Bible. It is still my favourite verse – Jeremiah 29:11-13

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Unity

I was reading Psalm 133 the other day; I found that every time I went to read it I would cry. I read it the next morning and cried again. I felt it wasn’t me crying it was Jesus crying through me and that he was upset with the disunity in the church. For the rest of the day, I had these words in my head, (when brothers dwell in unity you command a blessing); I thought, “well, God would bless us even more, if we were united.” It made me think of the Israelites going round and round in circles not getting to see the Promised Land because of all the moaning.

A Prayer From Robin Mark

Lord we bless you that you are a God of unity
And Lord you say in your word that when
Brothers dwell in unity you command a
Blessing.

Father we want to receive
A blessing from your hand
A blessing of grace and mercy,
A blessing we don’t deserve but we
Receive, because we are looked after and
Watched over by a father God who is in his
Very essence, love.

Blessings to you all,
Jill Grant.

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Christian Aid

Rosalind McLaughlin, a Christian Aid Week representative, travelled to Kenya with a group of other organisers and collectors. She saw the work of Christian Aid partner MNU in Kiambiu slum, and discovered what life is like in Matopeni, where it has yet to start work. This is her story …………

“The first things we saw when we arrived in Matopeni were the results of the “flying toilets.” There’s not a single toilet here, so people go, put it in a bag, and throw it over the wall. And there is no official tap or clean running water. People have managed to reach the water pipes below the ground – but the water is really filthy and carries typhoid. A lady called Catherine Kithuku showed us around. It was incredible. We were led along a walkway that runs alongside the houses. It was constructed of planks that were half-broken, and directly underneath it ran the community’s drainage system. Catherine said when it rains her family home floods with sewage right up to the level of the beds, soaking the mattresses. The dignity of the people here and the sense of community are very striking. It’s about we, not me. Catherine has already formed a group that has organised rubbish collections and educated people about health and other issues. Catherine said she dreams of an environment fit for humans to live in. She said she believes in change. If MNU works in Matopeni, I believe she will see it. By contrast, the people in Kiambiu are living something like a normal life. With the help of MNU, they have built five toilet and shower blocks and they’ve employed people from the local community to clean and maintain them. They’ve also got clean drinking water now.”

SMALL AMOUNTS BRING MASSIVE CHANGES TO MANY, MANY PEOPLE

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HAITI – DISASTER FUND

Following receipt of the cheque for £812.00, which we sent to Tearfund, we received a letter dated 16th March, an excerpt from which follows:

Dear Friends, Thank you so much for your gift of £812.00 to bring vital aid to the survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. Your donation is helping our church-based partners to respond to some of the most urgent needs; providing temporary shelters to those made homeless, medical treatment to the injured and food, clean water and sanitation. Immediately after the earthquake hit Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, UEBH (Union Evangelique Baptiste d’Haiti), a Tearfund church-based partner, opened its compound to their neighbours who had been left homeless. About 3,000 people have found vital shelter and access to basic services in their grounds. The families in the camp included Coralie and her sister who are 3 and 5 years old. Coralie had hurt her arm and leg in the quake but is now recovering well thanks to the care she has received and is enjoying playing with her friends.

Tearfund’s Health Advisors have also developed health promotion songs, games, dramas and picture stories which have been shared with UEBH. These resources will help the children in the camp to understand the importance of hygiene through simple messages like learning to wash hands. Many of the concrete systems used for water and sewage systems were destroyed in the quake, so ensuring clean water and good sanitation, in the interim period and for the long-term, is a vital concern for Tearfund staff and partners. Tearfund relief workers are working alongside our partners in Haiti, supporting their response, and planning longer-term work to rebuild homes, schools and livelihoods destroyed by the earthquake. Thank you again for your generosity, which is helping to save lives.

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At the Foot of the Cross

An article which was submitted in the hope it will help someone else during sleepless nights!

“I’m lying in bed, it’s 2.40ish am (again). This has got to be a joke; it was this time yesterday and the night before that. Why do I keep waking up at this time, it doesn’t make sense. I need my sleep so that when I get up I can get the kids ready for school, without losing my temper, make their lunch, make sure they are clean and presentable for the day and home work is in on time.

Then there’s me; I’ve got to choose what I have to wear from a mountain of clothes that I don’t like – they are out of date and make me look tired and scruffy. I wish I could afford stuff that keeps its shape. Maybe I should get a job, help bring in the money; but then I’d have to get a childminder for the children! It would have to be someone I knew and trusted, but then what’s the point of being a part time mum when God has given me lovely children; it’s my job to bring them up, and if I do a bad job, who’s to blame? Me!

Anyway, sleep, sleep, sleep, I need sleep, so I can get up and love my children the way they deserve. I wish they would get up when they are told instead of telling me to go away. What am I doing wrong? Sleep, sleep, sleep, stop thinking, stop thinking, I need sleep. I hope my friend from the school is alright. I saw her yesterday and she hardly looked at me. I wonder if I said something wrong or wasn’t there when she needed to talk. Oh no, what have I done? I bet she thinks I’m horrible. Oh I’m so stupid sometimes, why can’t I just be like everyone else instead of saying stupid things, or doing stupid things. STOP! I need to sleep. ‘Oh God, Father in heaven, this has been going on for weeks. I just need sleep so I can be a nice person and people will like me.’ Then I remembered hearing that if you are worrying about something, take it to the cross. But how do you do that while you are in bed, trying again to get to sleep? So, I imagined I was at the bottom of a steep hill and there on the top was a cross. OK, so this sand bag that I was carrying had the words ‘Mother’ – yes, I want to be a good mum so in my mind’s eye I walked up this hill with the mother of all sand bags on my shoulders; it seemed to take forever. When I eventually got to the top I carefully laid down the bag at the foot of the cross and said ‘there you are God. Sorry but I want to give it to you, as I am doing such a bad job of it myself.’ I found it really hard to turn round, leaving the bag there. I felt really guilty, then walked down the hill. Sleep, sleep, sleep. Ah! no sleep came. Right, instead of getting cross what else is on my mind? Hmm! Ah, yes, my temper. So up that great steep hill again with my temper bag; laid it at the cross and came down, apologising to Jesus for causing so much pain. At the bottom I thought, ‘Why Not!’ And up I went with my marriage, then back down. I thought about our finances, up I went again. ‘Sorry God for annoying you so much tonight.’

Then I remembered somewhere in the Bible it says ‘to give God your life as a living sacrifice.’ What did that mean? God loves you, He is there for you. ‘Yeah right’ lean on Him in times of trouble. ‘I’d squash him.’ Not in your own understanding but in his. ‘OK so Jesus actually wants all my sand bags?’ Yes. So it went on, up and down this hill in my mind’s eye. I was exhausted, but it was becoming easier, so much so that I didn’t even have to go up the hill; I was down the bottom throwing it up. Guilt, hopelessness, pain, despair all got chucked up there as if it was a crisp packet. Trust, worthlessness, stupidity.

Then I remembered those girls at school: I took each one by the scruff of their necks (by this time they were only about eight inches high) and I frisbeed them up until I was shaking and all around me was empty, just like me. From where I was I couldn’t see the cross, so I walked up the hill (almost floated as the weight had all been lifted). When I reached the top I found nothing but the cross was there, so I went up to it and laid down on my side so that I could put my arms and legs round it; I prayed ‘Sorry Lord for not doing this sooner’ and then I fell asleep.”

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AROUND THE CHURCH

Doreen Bartlett kindly agreed to have a chat with me for this edition, so we started by talking about her childhood and this is what she told me.

I was born in Erith and except for the time when I lived on Canvey Island, until I was about six years old, I have lived in Belvedere, when my mother and father, together with my two brothers and two sisters came to live with our grandparents as they were unable to take care of themselves. In fact, it worked out really well all living together and there were no problems. We spent the war years with them and I can remember they slept under the stairs, we children slept under a big kitchen table and mum and dad had a mattress against a dividing wall, because we did not like using the shelter! I had a very happy childhood; although I do remember one incident from which I am still suffering! When I was around 11 years of age I was on roller skates playing with some boys, one of whom had a bow and arrow and said that he was going to shoot it at me. I was at the age when one is quite cocky so I told him to do so, and it went in my eye. The optician can still see the damage! I used to go to the Pentecostal Church, which is now in Mitchell Close – to Sunday school at first and then when I was older we used to go to the service in the evening. During the week we used to have lantern slides and I can still remember our pastor! I went to church until I started work when I was 15, which so often happens doesn’t it?

In fact, my dad introduced me to my husband, Ted, and I remember one day when I was having an off day I told my father that I would not forgive him for introducing us! Of course I did not mean it! Whilst we were courting Ted went into the Navy – this was in the days of compulsory conscription when young men had to do two years in one of the services – and it was about 18 months after he came out before we got married. I was working at Burndept Vidor in Erith, and Ted worked for a timber firm, starting off in the yard and becoming a crane driver – he was there for 43 years. We lived with his parents in Crabtree Manor Way, right on the river bank, until we managed to buy our house in Grosvenor Road, where we still live. I can remember when our eldest daughter, Yvonne, was about six months and there were some awful floods in Lower Belvedere and we were stranded. Wherever we looked was covered with water, but fortunately we did not get it indoors although it was still quite scary – when I see people on the TV who are stranded, and worse still, flooded, I can really relate to them. We had to go to live with my parents for about a month. Christine, our second daughter, was born soon after Yvonne, and then after twelve years we had Jacqui. And now, to complete our family, we have our lovely granddaughter, Tilly.

When Jacqui started school I went back to work for ten years, first of all as a canteen helper, at Lesness School and then on to Picardy School (it is now known as Trinity School) where, in fact, I went to school. I will never forget the day I sliced a bit off my thumb – somebody had extra that day!!! – and ended up at the Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital, where I met one of the Falkland heroes, Simon Weston, as he was there at the same time. I can really appreciate how much work has been done on his face because I saw him at the beginning – it is really amazing!

Ted was made redundant in 1991 and has been home ever since. He has suffered from ill health – diabetes, angina, and glaucoma - and now his spine is closing up at the bottom and is squeezing the nerves, which means that instead of being the active man around the house which he had been in the past, he sits and plays with his trains, making scenery, cattle trucks, etc., to pass the time, so, as you can imagine, this has come as quite a blow to him and he gets quite depressed.

Jacqui encouraged me to come along to BBC around a year ago because I, too, was becoming depressed and I needed something to help me. I have always believed in God and that our life is planned for us before we come on this earth; I have also, although not having been to church for many years, regularly said my prayers at night and when I had been anxious I could talk to God. I have also started going to Women’s Own and I do find the services and the company of people so helpful, but something which Andrew said in a sermon recently has really made me think, and maybe some Daily Reading notes will help me, so perhaps I will go along to the shop in Welling with Jacqui.

As far as hobbies are concerned it is strange how things change – I used to do cake decorating and when I started I would never have believed that I would have made Jacqui’s cake when she got married and thoroughly enjoyed it, but then suddenly did not want to do it any more. I do like music – jazz and Big Band – although I do like a mixture including some classical, and I have just started to go to the flower arranging group here and I love it.